Monday Apple Rumors: 13-inch iPad Prototype in Testing

by Christopher Freeburn | July 22, 2013 12:45 pm

[1]Here are your Apple rumors[2] and AAPL news items for today:

Bigger: Prototypes for iPhones and iPads with large screens[3] are under development by Apple‘s (AAPL[4]) supply chain partners, the Wall Street Journal notes. Among the prototypes under consideration is an iPad with a screen measuring just under 13-inches diagonally. The current iPad has a 9.7-inch screen. Last year, Apple unveiled the iPad Mini, which has a 7.9-inch screen. Sales of the iPad Mini have eaten into sales of the standard-sized iPad. Apple is also said to be looking to increase the size of the iPhone’s screen beyond the current 4-inches. A wave of recent smartphones from various manufacturers, including arch-rival Samsung, feature screens bigger than 5-inches. Apple, which increased the size of the iPhone’s screen to 4-inches last year with the iPhone 5, has long resisted the idea of building an iPhone with a larger screen. Earlier this year, CEO Tim Cook noted that smartphones with larger screens come with “trade-offs” and that Apple wouldn’t offer an iPhone with a bigger screen unless it could resolve those problems. However, with larger screen smartphones proving a hit with consumers, the company may be feeling pressure to diversify its product line. Apple is expected to unveil a new iPhone with a 4-inch screen and a 9.7-inch updated iPad this fall.

Siege: The website used by Apple developers has been hit by hackers[5], CNN notes. On Thursday, Apple shuttered the website and later posted a notice indicating that hackers had tried to obtain “personal information of our registered developers.” The site remains closed at a time when developers are readying new software to work with Apple’s iOS 7 in advance of an expected wave of new product launches this fall. Apple noted that critical information on the website pertaining to developers was encrypted, but that names and contact information for developers might have been breached. The company indicated that it is deploying new security measures in the wake of the attack.

More Maps Apps: Apple has made another acquisition in the mapping data business[6], Bloomberg notes. The iPhone-maker will purchase HopStop.com, which helps users navigate public transit systems, according to unnamed insider sources. HopStop provides information on subway, car and foot travel in 500 cities. Last week, Apple acquired Canadian crowdsourced mapping information provider Locationary for an undisclosed sum. Apple has been buying up mapping data startups in a bid to boost the reliability of its in-house developed maps app, which was criticized for inaccuracies and glitches after it launched last year.

For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors[7] stories.